Kat Ran Press

Everything is Starting

T for Everything is Starting was received inthe last days of July , and ours became the first print-ing of a single poem by MacArthur Award-winning poet/teacher/scholar/dog lover Eleanor Wilner, who noted in aletter to the printer that the scope of the piece “go[es]from dog piss in the neighborhood to the Big Bang.” Itwas quickly decided that Centaur types would be excep-tionally appropriate for such themes and should be cast inthe small shop adjacent to the Thistlebrook Kennel inSkaneateles, New York. The types were rearranged at ournew offices overlooking the Mill River and printed ondampened Twinrocker papers in June of , almost onelong year after we received the manuscript. A small three-color etching was arranged opposite the title page byartist/printer/teacher/professional student LouiseKohrman at Zea Mays Printmaking. The whole book,comprising eight ½ x inch leaves, has been sewn intohandmade paper wrappers by the staff of the Press. Simul-taneously published with this prospectus, fifty numberedcopies are presently available for $, while an additionalfifteen lettered copies are meant for those individuals whoparticipated in the making of the book and are not available at any price.

Crow Calls

A years of planning, we finally had thepleasure of offering this title in November of . Fourshort and sweet pieces by Robin Barber, writer/teacher/landlord, were composed in Bembo types and printed ondampened paper by Michael and Katherine Russem andMs Corinne Gill on our presses overlooking the ware-house of Deals & Steals, a local purveyor of packagedhealth foods that have long since passed their date of expi-ration. Four complementary drawings were made byJennifer Jo Schmidtmann, artist/printer/dental assistant/native of Liverpool. These drawings were reincarnated asphotogravure plates under the watchful eye of JonGoodman and printed on his press by Rosemary Kress.The papers used throughout are Twinrocker, Griffen, andOakdale, the latter laboriously dyed and re-dyed at thePress until they turned a deep, dark blue hue, and thenused for the covers of the books. All bindings and boxes(which measure a comfortable ½ x inches) were madeby Sarah Grace Provoncha at her well-equipped NewHaven bindery. Fifty numbered copies were offered for$, while an additional fifteen copies were lettered and divided among those individuals who participated in themaking of the book and are not available at any price.

Overpass

A years, for which we had very little toshow, the Proprietors of the Press were delighted to offerOverpass in the very last days of the Summer of .Greeted with scorn and ridicule by the old fashioned andthe old at heart, while praised and adored by the progres-sive and young at heart, it is the first in a planned series ofnumber books in which various artists will be asked tomake a series of drawings on themes of their own choos-ing—the only requirement being that this series deal withan increasing amount of some thing or things (i.e., onedog, two figs, three bottle rockets, etc.). Overpass containssix drawings of structures imagined by Jennifer Hill, localand illustrative painter/on-air radio personality. Ms Hill’soriginal drawings were reincarnated as polymer plates,printed on our presses, and further embellished with con-siderable amounts of pencil. Although there is no text, asmall amount of metal Gill Sans types in a variety of sizeswere required for the title page and colophon. DampenedTwinrocker papers were printed, dried, and folded downto x inches. Fifty numbered copies were offeredfor $, while an additional fifteen copies were letteredand divided among those individuals who participated inthe making of the book and are not available at any price.

A Year of Smoke,

P Dante types on dampened handmade papers,R. Barber’s poem was the third title from the Press. Thirty-fivedeluxe copies were bound in a paste-paper and leather tri-fold byD. Bourbeau with a smoke drawing by K. Gohde. An additionalfifteen lettered copies were bound thus, and given to the bookworkers. Another fifty copies were bound in Richard de Baswrappers without the smoke drawing. Deluxe $. Regular $.

Seven Trees,

S poems by J. Alvarez were printedfrom Perpetua types on x inch leaves of Velké Losiny paperswith lithographs by S. Eichner, printed by H. Fox. Sixty-fivecopies were bound by D. Bourbeau and B. Blumenthal. Threedeluxe copies came with an original drawing by the artist.Deluxe $. Regular $.

Match in a Bottle, ’

S by T. Knapp were printed from Centaur types on x inch sheets of Arches. Eight smoke and fire drawings byK. Gohde accompany each book. Regular copies were bound byW. Bixler, while deluxe copies were handled by D. Bourbeau. Out of print.

La Patience est une VirtueT of the Press realizes that the production ofthese books often takes ridiculous amounts of time. Weencourage collectors, curators, and dealers who find them-selves too anxious to wait for our next titles to take somecomfort in hiring the Press to manufacture custom book-plates, or stationery for their personal or business corre-spondence. Further relief may be gained by patronizingone or more of the other publishers, institutions, andbusinesses that hire the Press for the production of limitededition books and ephemera. Some of our clients includeSierras Press, st Photography, Osiris Communications,The Limited Editions Club, the Robert Klein Gallery, andSmith College. We are certain that you will find dealingwith the representatives of these firms to be as easy, de-lightful, and refreshingly stress-free as we do. But beforeresorting to any of the above, we suggest that you checkyour library for Kat Ran titles that may be missing fromyour collection. Parties interested in filling any holes shouldcall, write, fax, or e-mail the Press and rest assured that allcorrespondence will be dealt with in a timely manner.

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